The Political Trail
by DarkHorseAsh
Summary: (Sort of AU) What happens when Josh goes to get Sam to get him to go on the campaign trail? And why is Sam afraid of Toby?
1. Chapter 1

Joshua Lyman leans back in his seat, staring at the laptop that is open in front of him. He sighs, hesitantly raising his hands to begin to type again. His mind is still back in New Hampshire, listening to the person an old friend of his father, Leo Mcgarry, was supporting for president speak. Bartlet, he reminds himself the man's name is. Josiah Bartlet. He flips back to the other tab he has up on his laptop, where he has been researching the man, listening to some of his speaking arrangements. What had truly gotten his attention was the way the man had answered the dairy farmer. He sighs, closing the laptop and leaning his head back against the seat and thinking of his conversation with Sam only the day before. _I...I think this is the real deal. But how am I supposed to know? For all I know, next month this guy will turn into what Hoynes is doing._ But something in the back of Josh's brain leaves him shaking his head at this argument. Leo was a good friend of his father's, but he was also a good man and, somehow, Josh trusts what he has to say. He goes to open an email, but finds himself unable to write more than "Hey, Sam," before closing it again and opening up a tab to look at airline tickets to Washington from New Hampshire, than one for the next day from Washington to New York. The next email he opens is to Leo. "I'll see you in two days. Might bring a friend with me, he's a lawyer and speech writer who I've worked with in the past." The email goes on for over a page, but he barely notices, too afraid of what Hoynes is going to say to him the next day.

The sky is cloud-covered as Josh hurries down the very busy street in Washington D.C. Leo had said that they would take all the hands they could get, after he had gone on a firing spree the day before, and that he was looking forward to seeing him in a few days. Josh was on his way to give Hoynes his letter of resignation. The next day, he would be hopping onto a plane to New York and seeing if Sam would join him. He really, really hoped that he would. He missed working with Sam. When he finally gets to Hoynes office, Josh seriously, seriously hopes that Hoynes won't see him and he can just leave the letter with the secretary. Unfortunately, that goes out the window when Hoynes sees him and storms over to him. "We've been trying to call you all morning where were you!" He demands, glaring down at Josh, who is actually trying not to quiver in fear. "I went to New Hampshire on my day off, Sir. I was flying back this morning and I just got here a minute and a half ago. I um...I need to give you this." Josh shoves the letter at Hoynes and, as soon as the other man takes it, turns and abruptly walks out, ignoring Hoynes yelling after him. He has to pay the final rent on his appartment, find a hotel for the night, and hope that his now-former boss wasn't too mad at him.

The plane lands in New York and it is full on thunderstorms. Josh is shivering like a wet cat, gripping his suitcase in one hand with his backpack on his back. He has finally managed to find his way to the law firm that Sam works at, and realizes, not for the first time, that he really is scared Sam will elect to stay in New York instead of coming with him to New Hampshire to meet up with Leo and Bartlet and that other speech writer guy who was with them. Toby or Tony or something. He crosses all of his fingers, takes a deep breath, and walks into the building.

Sam is sitting in silence in the cab. His eyes are locked on the scenery outside the window, all of his belongings in the box on his knees. "Josh I swear to god, you did tell them I was coming, right. I broke up with Lisa for this!" He doesn't mention that he and Lisa had been fighting for months, or that it never would have worked in the first place, but he doesn't because he knows that Josh already knows all of that. "This guy is the real deal, Josh?" I can feel Josh nod from where the other man is sitting next to him and sighs, exhaling and shifting so his head is resting against the cold glass window. The New Hampshire landscape is speeding by them, both men enjoying the comfortable silence of the other's company until they finally reach the bottom of the driveway of the small office building that Leo had directed him to go to. Josh gets out first, grabbing his backpack and suitcase. He and Sam squabble for a few moments over which of them is going to pay, before Josh just shoves Sam out of his way and pays while the other man is getting his balance. "Oh cmon, Josh! That hurt!" Sam complains as they walk slowly up the driveway to the office building. Sam was moving awkwardly. "Hey, Sam? You ok?" "Oh, yea, just fell out of a boat during a race last weekend. Twisted knee pretty bad." Josh sighs, not believing him and more than a little glad that he had gotten Sam away from _her_ , silently grabbing Sam's box and tucking it under his free arm. Sam glances down at his feet, but the pain in his movements has lessened, so Josh is ready and willing to do this and get the box up this hill for Sam.

They stop halfway up, sitting down on a bench with a sigh. Sam stretches his leg out with a pained groan, Josh leans sideways to rest his head and upper body against Sam. He doesn't miss Sam's flinch when he does, and silently plots the best ways to get revenge for his best friend. "Missed you, Sammy." Sam smiles slightly, tossing an arm over the other man, knowing that they'll have to discuss this eventually, but not really caring. "Cmon, I'm interested to meet this friend of yours, and Toby. He's a brilliant speech writer, you know. I've always admired his writing." Josh nods, helping Sam to his feet and trying to balance the backpack, box, and suitcase. Sam hesitates, moving to help, but Josh gives a hard shake of his head as he glares at Sam. "No, Samson, no way in hell."

Leo meets them at the top of the hill, smiling when he sees Josh. "Joshua Lyman, I was worried you would never get here!" Josh puts the box and suitcase down on the ground so he can embrace Leo for a moment, before Leo moves back to size Sam up. The younger man takes a tentative step forward, offering out his hand. "Hi. I'm Sam Seaborn." Leo nods, studying him for another second. "Alright boys, c'mon in. Joshua, give me one of those things you don't have enough hands. Why isn't he carrying something?" Josh sighs, freeing up a hand to grab Sam's arm. The darker-haired man howls in agony, yanking free and all but buckling over. Pain flashes in Leo's eyes for a moment before he nods, taking Sam's box from where Josh had put it down and leading the boys inside. "Alright, cmon boys." They follow Leo inside, glancing around the makeshift headquarters. "Ok, firstly Leo, we need to get out of this building." Leo snorts. "Good luck with that, Josh. We need to get out of the STATE, but he's not too ready for that he's never campaigned outside of New Hampshire." Josh nods, Sam glancing around.

Toby is watching them from across the room, his sharp eyes noting the awkwardness of the black-haired man's stride, the way his left arm is tucked closer to his body than most would have by default. He won't say anything, he decides, but he does make a mental note to keep an eye on the young man. He's read a bit by him, he's not a half bad speech writer, but something about the trembling young man surprises him. He already looks so confident when speaking. Sam hesitantly approaches him, head down, movement slow and wary. Toby moves to offer out a hand, surprised at the strength in Sam's handshake, considering how hard the boy was shaking. "I'm Sam." Toby nods, jerking his head towards the back room he has claimed as his to work in. Sam scuttles after him, his box resting in the crook of one arm. Toby jerks his head at an empty table and Sam nods, gratefully setting the box down and all but collapsing into a chair against the wall. Toby stares at him for a moment before actually speaking. "I'm Toby. I'm apparently now your boss. I've read some of your writings and they're not bad. We are working on a speech about immigration." Toby is sitting at his laptop now, copying Sam into the document. A few minutes later, he looks over at Sam, getting annoyed when he sees the boy is still staring at the ground. "Sam!" He snaps, immediately regretting it when the boy jerks backwards, eyes wide and scared. He regathers himself in a moment, but that moment of terror would stay with Toby for a while. "Why aren't you working?" Sam glances at his feet, then whispers softly, "Don't have a computer, sir." Toby can't hide the surprise in his eyes, then he sighs and nods, standing to leave the room for a moment. Sam moves to follow him, then decides against it when his leg buckles under him. Toby returns about twenty minutes later, carrying a laptop box, which he hands to Sam. "Well? Get that thing up and get writing." Sam grins despite himself, opening the box to start setting the laptop up. "Toby?" He asks timidly, feeling Toby's eyes on him. "Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

Toby sits at the back of the bus, studying the way Sam and Josh interact. It's been a few months since Josh had first come, dragging the thin, nervous young speechwriter with him and Toby was pretty sure that Sam hadn't looked him in the eyes, not once. The boy barely spoke at all, only when he was directly asked something, and Toby was beginning to be concerned at how thin the he was, he never seemed to eat. At the moment, Josh and Sam were a few rows up from him, sitting next to each other. The staff wasn't large, so Toby i wondering why they didn't want their own seats. Sam looks more relaxed than usual, asleep for once with his head resting on Josh's shoulder. Josh is writing in a notebook which is open on his lap, glancing over at Sam every few moments. Every little while he glances over at Toby and the look in his eyes surprises him because he can't read it. Toby prides himself on being able to read people but he can't read the look there any more than he can understand the terror in Sam's eyes when the boy looks at him. Bartlet and Leo are up near the front of the bus, arguing about something. Probably about leaving New Hampshire to go to South Carolina. It had taken a ton of effort to get this to happen so they were all pretty worried about what would happen if it failed. Toby just sighs, leans against his seat, and turns his attention back to the writing that he was, at present, in the middle of. It was a speech for South Carolina, and he was struggling with the guy's views because he had no idea what those views WERE. Bartlett certainly didn't seem too keen to tell anyone, which had Toby wired and frustrated, two things you did NOT want Toby Zeigler to be at the same time.

They finally make it to the hotel at around nine that night, then end up arguing over rooms. Well, Josh and Toby and the other guys do. Sam just sits there staring at his hands. Somehow, Toby, Josh, and Sam all end up in one room. They trek upstairs, and for the first time in a while Toby notices that Sam is still moving awkwardly. "So...who's sleeping on the couch?" Sam instantly volunteers, setting his box down at the foot of the couch and kicking off his shoes as Toby goes to get changed. He rummages in the box for a few moments, finding an old, worn pair of sweatpants, which he pulls on. They all settle down for sleep, Sam stretching out on the couch.

Toby wakes up early the next morning, turning off the alarm on his phone as he ducks into the living room to see if Sam was awake. He isn't, still curled on the couch asleep, but he doesn't look very peaceful. Toby studies him for a moment, before going to sit down in a chair at the little table with his laptop open, writing the same speech he had been working on the day before. He isn't sure how long it is before he hears Sam make a noise, but when he does he glances up and sees the young man watching him, eyes darkened with an emotion Toby can't read. He rolls sideways, grabbing a shirt and as he slips it on, Toby sees a flash of his skin, scarred. He studies the young man for a moment, but before he can ask, he doesn't think he even wants to, Josh has come in the room and is carrying his bag. "Alright, just got a call from Leo, we need to be there in fifteen. Cmon guys, get dressed, or we won't have time to stop for breakfast." None of them have many clothes, so they all end up in the same shirts, ties, pants, and shoes as the day before. Sam and Toby sit down at a table to work on our speech, Sam's soft voice slipping into the breaks when Toby is silent, but never talking over him or asking him to stop. Toby makes a note on a file he has, titled List Of Things I Have Noticed About Sam, and makes a mental note to stop talking as much. They finally get the speech done at around six pm and give it to Leo to give to Bartlett, and go back to sitting in an awkward silence. Sam is staring at his hands silently, looking nervous. In the end, Leo sends them back to the hotel room. Sam is curled up on the couch and asleep within five minutes, while Toby sits down to write a paper that he had been wanting to write for a while. After a few hours, he glances up at a soft whimper. Sam has, till that point, been pretty silent but now he is whining softly, and, as Toby looks, he can see that the young man is gripping the blankets tightly, clearly caught in a nightmare. Toby debates what to do for a moment, till he hears Sam whimpering softly, "Please," over and over, his voice scared and heartbroken. Toby gives up ignoring him and crosses the room, gently grasping Sam's shoulders to shake him awake. The boy cries out, springing away from Toby and staring at him with terror in his eyes. Most of the lights are off, Toby realizes, so Sam can't see who he is. He moves and flicks the lights on, then moves back to crouching in front of Sam. "Hey, easy, it's just me, Sam. Not going to hurt you, promise." He swears Sam has never looked younger, not in these last few months, than in this moment. Toby slowly moves to put a hand on Sam's knee, surprised when Sam launches himself at him, burying his head against his shoulder. "T'by." He whimpers, voice muffled by Toby's shoulder. Once he is over his initial shock, Toby hesitantly puts his arms around the thin figure, grimacing at how prominent his bones are even through a shirt, rubbing his back gently. "Easy, Sam. You're fine, nobody's going to get you, not with me here." He isn't sure how long they sit there, till Sam stops shaking and pulls away, eyes down, shoulders hunched, body tense in a way that makes it look like he is bracing for a blow. The thought of that makes Toby's blood run cold. After a few moment Sam chances a glance at him and relaxes slightly, moving to sit on the couch. "I'm sorry I woke you up, sir." He mutters softly.

Toby moves, grabbing a chair so he can sit in front of Sam. "No reason to be sorry, Sam. I wasn't asleep yet, and even if I was I wouldn't mind. And please, don't call me sir it makes me feel old." Sam looks at him with so much confusion in his eyes that Toby just can't understand it. He hesitates for a moment before plunging into a question. "Sam? Why are you so thin? I can feel all your bones through your shirt." Sam stiffens instinctively, hands moving to grip the worn fabric of his pants. "I...there isn't much of a chance to eat?" He offers softly. Toby shakes his head, not believing him, since they had stopped for breakfast that morning and Sam hadn't bought anything. Finally, his brain clicks, the last pieces slipping into place when he thinks of the _longing_ in Sam's eyes that morning, even as he said he wasn't hungry. "Sam? Why can't you afford food?" Toby instantly knows he is right, Sam stiffens in terror and scrambles away from him, pulling his long legs up to his body. Toby takes a step back, not wanting to crowd the clearly frightened man. "Got to send everything I make to my parents or they...they need it." He mutters softly. Toby sighs. "When was the last time you ate?" Sam shrugs, and Toby thinks back to the last time he or Josh had bought all of them food, three days ago. "Oh, kid." Sam visibly deflates, and Toby sighs, checking his watch and grabbing his coat. "Cmon, kid. It's not that late." Sam is watching him intently, but he obediently does as Toby says, grabbing his shoes and thin coat and following Toby outside and down the street to a little twenty-four hour cafe that Toby had seen earlier in the day. They settle down in a booth, Toby going to the register to order and coming back with two bowls of warm chicken noodle soup and rolls. He carefully pushes one bowl and roll over to Sam. He can feel Sam's eyes on him as he calmly begins to eat his. After a few moments, Sam cautiously takes a spoonful of soup, not taking his eyes off of Toby as he puts it in his mouth. Toby is watching him out of the corner of his eye as Sam slowly relaxes, digging eagerly into the food. Toby relaxes, too, enjoying the warm soup. They sit in comfortable silence, drinking soup and eating the warm, golden-brown rolls that Toby had brought for them. Toby glances over at Sam as they're walking back, noticing how much the boy is shivering under his coat. He's about to offer Sam his when he hears Sam cry out. A man in an alley had grabbed him, pinning him against the wall. The boy cries out, thrashing even after Toby has slammed the guy into the wall and kneed him in the groin. He crouches down in front of Sam, who is staring past him, eyes blank and empty. "Please, I'm sorry, please dad, please." The young man whines, trembling as he tucks himself against the wall as far as he can, leaving Toby staring at him in desperation, at a loss on what to do, before pulling out his phone to call Josh. Josh knows what's wrong the moment he hears Toby's voice, letting out a string of curses and getting Toby to put him on speaker. Toby isn't sure what he expects, but it definitely isn't for Josh to start singing softly. Toby isn't sure what he's singing, but Sam visibly relaxes as he does, slowly uncurling to slump against the building, head in his hands. The guy who had grabbed him is moaning, but Toby doesn't care, since he doubts the guy is stupid enough to go at him again. He offers a hand to Sam, which the man slowly takes, pulling himself to his feet and silently walking back towards the hotel. He doesn't speak, not till they're sitting at the table in the hotel with their computers open and the newest speech up. And even then, all he says is two words. "Thank you."


End file.
